Foreign Policies Of India S Prime Ministers

The book is on the Prime Ministers of India since Jawaharlal Nehru. A chapter is devoted to each of them with a focus on their foreign policies. The broad organisational framework, designed and deployed in this publication, begins with a brief analysis of their formative years, their perceptions of the international system, and the architecture of their foreign policies, before delving into their decisional process, and before concluding with an evaluation of their role. All the Prime Ministers were obviously not interested in international affairs. Though the dimensional size of the country had unavoidably pushed all of them to deal with foreign affairs, their role was variegated and their performance was unequal. While the Nehru-Gandhi family were the icons of Indian diplomacy, there were others like Morarji Desai, V.P.Singh, H.D.Deve Gowda, Chandra Shekar, etc. who were really marginal either because their mandate was limited by time or by interest. The uniqueness of the book lies in the fact that the author has dealt with all the Prime Ministers, including the ones for whom foreign policy was not crucial.

In This Brilliant, Insightful Book, J.N.Dixit Chronicles The Role Of Those Who Have Played An Important Role In Fashioning And Implementing India'S Foreign Policy Since And Before Independence Right Up To The 12Th Saarc Summit In Islamabad In January 2004. In Doing So He Fulfils A Major Gap In The Study Of Indian Foreign Policy, For He Focuses Not Just On The Nehru-Gandhis But Also On Those Who Are Less Well-Known, Including Diplomats And Policy Advisers. He Shows Us How India'S Foreign Policy Was Linked To The Personalities And Beliefs Of The Men And Women Who Happened To Be At The Helm Of Affairs. Apart From The Central Role Played By Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri And Indira Gandhi, The Book Highlights The Contributions Of Other Prime Ministers Such As Narasimha Rao, I.K.Gujral, And Atal Behari Vajpayee. Also Portrayed Are Ministers Such As V.K. Krishna Menon, Sardar Swaran Singh, Y.B. Chavan, Jaswant Singh And Yashwant Sinha. The Role Of Behind-The-Scenes Operators Like Girija Shankar Bajpai, Badruddin Tyabji, D.P.Dhar, P.N.Haksar And Brajesh Mishra Is Also Recalled.

When Narasimha Rao became the prime Minister in 1991, just a billion dollars separated India from bankruptcy. He was told by finance minister Manmohan Singh, that Petrol pumps would run dry after two weeks. India was forced to ship 46.8 million tonnes of gold to secure dollar 400 million in loans from the Bank of England and Bank of Japan. This blow to the National pride may not have been comparable to the military humiliation of 1962, but it was bad enough. Carved in riveting prose, India's world is about such trials and many triumphs of the country. Since Independence, eight prime ministers, in particular, have been the principal architects of India's rise. From Nehru, Venerated as a resolute statesman and one of the great political minds of the last century, to Modi who is acknowledged as a determined doer, the book offers a crystal clear portrait of India's leaders. This lively volume celebrates the myriad ways in which they have made history. It asks and answers questions that people often debate about. Who was the great Indian prime Minister, complete in every respect If there was one, could it be Nehru, Indira or Rao Or, is it Modi Elegantly written by one of India's finest strategic minds, it is a must-read for those curious about India's place in the world. There are messages too for a future Indian prime Minister on what to expect.

Transcript of speeches and comments made in debates.